February 2016 Young Living Essential oil unboxing

Homemade granola two ways

Hello my fellow people of the world! I have missed talking to you guys lately and hope everyone is having an amazing beginning of February. I have been wanting to share this recipe for a few weeks now and finally I sat down to share it with you all (the procrastination is real this month). Brandon has been on a granola kick lately he eats it for breakfast, snacks, and sometimes as a little end of the day treat! I was in target AKA the mothership a few weeks back and was looking through the different types of granolas. They have a million different kinds and while they all look pretty tasty, once reading the ingredients I realized I have no damn idea what some of the ingredients are let alone how the hell to say them. It kind of bothered me, don't get me wrong I am not full crunchy, I do eat my occasional Hot Cheetos which have god knows what in them except delicious unhealthy magic. I decided that granola can't be that hard to make at home right?!

RIGHT! Dude, this stuff is super easy to make. The best part about them is that they are sure recipes 

What is a sure recipe you might ask?

A sure recipe is my favorite type of recipes to make, the kinds that you have all of your ingredients out and you ask yourself in your head 

"Should I add that?" in which you reply "sure"

"Do you think this is the right amount to add?" ..."sure"

"Do you think the recipe will be okay with a little extra of this?" ... "sure"

They are my favorite type of recipes to make! The type of non hassle just throw it together and then it tastes good kind. I usually don't measure stuff out very well when I cook but decided to come up with TWO different easy granola recipes for you all! 

The first one is a super simple peanut butter granola, and the second one is an easy fruit and nut granola. 

We like to eat granola with some almond milk and a fresh banana, on top of our favorite homemade smoothie or just sit and snack on it all by itself!

So lets get to making!

Recipe 1: Super simple peanut butter granola

Ingredients:

• 3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1/2 cup peanut butter ( I used smooth but it's your choice)
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 Tbs. shelled hemp seeds
• 2 Tbs. shelled flax seed
• 1/2 Tbs. cinnamon

Instructions: 

1. Preheat oven to 315 degrees
2. Put the honey, vanilla, and coconut oil into a microwave safe dish and microwave in 30 second increments until melted. ( Be careful guys, it can get hot)
3. Once melted, add the coconut oil mixture into a small bowl with the peanut butter and stir until smooth.
4. Once smooth add the peanut butter mixture with the dry ingredients and stir until all the dry ingredients are completely coated 
5. Spread onto a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat
6. Bake for 25 minutes, about 10 minutes in use a spatula to turn over and mix around granola
7. Continue baking, peek in every once in a while to make sure it is not getting too dark
8. Let cool completely then use fingers or spatula to break into the size granola you would like
9. Store in an airtight container for up to two weeks

                    

Easy enough right?! The next one is super yummy as well, I may or may not eat handfuls of the dried apricots before the granola is even ready. I'm not even sorrrrryyyyyyy

Back to baking! 

Recipe 2: Easy fruit and nut granola

Ingredients:

• 3 cups of old-fashioned oats
• 1/3 cup coconut oil
• 1/2 cup of honey
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup of Trader Joes Super seed and ancient grain blend ( This is a blend of sprouted buckwheat, sprouted millet, chia seed, golden flax seed, red quinoa, shelled hemp seed, and Amaranth ) If this mixture is not available to you feel free to add 1/2 cup of what ever blend of seeds/ grains you like.
• 2/3 cup of mixed dried fruit and nuts
• 1/2 cup of chopped dried apricots 
• 1/4 cup of raw almonds
• dash of cinnimon

Instructions: 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Mix oats, salt, Super seed blend, and cinnamon into a large bowl
3. Put the honey, vanilla, and coconut oil into a microwave safe dish and microwave in 30 second increments until melted. ( See above pictures)
4. Once melted, add the coconut oil mixture into the bowl with the dry ingredients and stir until all the dry ingredients are completely coated 
5. Spread onto a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper or silicone baking mat
6. Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown
7. After about 10 minutes of baking use a spatula to stir around the granola, continue to bake
8. Once done, allow to completely cool
9. Mix in your dried fruit and nuts and store in an airtight container for up to two weeks

Enjoy!

xoxo
Julie